Overnight between April 14-15, the Fairhaven Big Coulee Complex that houses the Flips Gymnastics Club was broken into for the second time this year.
“They knew what they were coming in for, and they left quickly,” said Flips president Nichole Collins of the intrusion onto Athabasca & District Ag Society grounds, where the complex sits.
The intruders busted doors and pried open locked drop-boxes, taking cash that had been left by parents paying for things like uniforms or drop-in classes.
“These people know (the drop-boxes) are there now, so we’re going to have to figure out a different way to make it efficient for parents to make those drop-in classes,” said Collins. Fortunately, the drop-boxes had been emptied within a week of the break-in, so the intruders likely made off with no more than $100, she said.
The big expense will be replacing doors. The club had made plans to replace the existing doors with steel ones after a January break-in, and contractors were already scheduled to come by this week.
Collins estimated it will cost about $4,000 to replace the doors on the Flips building.
When the facility was first broken into in January, the culprits expelled a fire extinguisher, leaving hours worth of cleanup for Flips volunteers.
This time, the Agriplex hall was also broken into, and Athabasca & District Ag Society president Harvey Strome spent part of his Easter weekend inspecting the damage.
He noted that like the Flips facility, most of the damage was to doors. As of press time, he had not noticed that anything had been taken, and he postulated that the intruders did not find what they were looking for.
“The double doors that have been damaged are upwards of $1,000 each,” said Strome.
Strome said the ag society must move quickly, stepping up surveillance and security and repairing the doors. An event has been booked at the Agriplex for this weekend.
“We have to be ready for them,” said Strome.
Collins said while it is unfortunate those responsible targeted a facility used by kids, police do not believe the Flips facility was singled out for that reason. She stressed that there is no danger to gymnasts, as incidents have only happened late at night when the grounds are deserted.
Anyone with tips in the case is asked to contact Athabasca RCMP at 780-675-4252 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
